This report offers key considerations on how to develop and evaluate direct cash transfer programs (DCTP) for youth experiencing homelessness. In designing a DCTP program in New York City, these considerations include centering on youth, boosting housing stability, flexibility in the implementation of delivery of payment and support systems, and identifying barriers to program success. This report’s findings are based on a literature review of DCTPs; focus groups with youth experiencing homelessness and a range of other stakeholders beyond affected youth; and a co-interpretation workshop with stakeholders, including young people, government agency representatives, funders, and advocates.

This new webinar series entitled Moving Upstream: Transforming Systems to Advance Well-Being will examine structural barriers to and opportunities for moving to a coordinated system of services to support and strengthen families. The first webinar in the series will occur on January 14, 2021 from 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. The webinar will examine how housing and economic mobility programs can coordinate to promote child and family well-being. Presenters will include representatives from Mercy Housing, Casey Family Services, Compass Working Capital, and Abt Associates.

This interactive mapping tool reflects the community factors associated with safe children and strong families. These factors include child and family well-being (children living in poverty and children without health insurance), educational attainment, economic status (unemployment rate, poverty rate, and median household income), housing factors (average number of hours working at minimum wage needed to afford housing, and percentage of unoccupied housing units), accessibility (access to healthy food, number of SNAP benefit recipients, computer access, and reduced/free lunch eligibility), and COVID-19 metrics (through November 2, but continuously updated). Data and indicators can be mapped at geographic levels defined by the user from the state level to the neighborhood level (by census tract).

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation infographic illustrates the three phases of the Youth At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH) project. The phases include YARH grantees’ identification of target populations, design of program interventions, implementation and testing of these interventions, and administration of evidence-based evaluations. YARH grantees consist of state and county/tribal child welfare agencies and community organizations funded by the Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families.

This report is an initial evaluation of Families Forward, a locally designed and funded two-generation program in Bangor, Maine. The program involves a partnership with Bangor Housing, the local public housing authority, and the Boys & Girls Club of Bangor. The program’s model includes social supports for families, financial coaching, and access to services and training that are designed to move these families toward greater economic mobility.

This report is an initial evaluation of the Bringing Families Home (BFH) program in San Francisco, California, which is a state-funded initiative that provides permanent housing and supportive services for homeless families or families with unstable housing who are engaged with the child welfare system. (Bringing Families Home is the sustained version of Families Moving Forward, a federally funded demonstration project.) Participating families under BFH receive in-home services to prevent their children from being placed in foster care. Families with children in foster care receiving reunification services are also covered under the program. The evaluation includes assessment data of family status and information about housing status, receipt of supportive services, the status of child welfare cases, and out-of-home care placements for families enrolled in BFH from July 2017 to June 2020.

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin will host a virtual seminar on October 15, 2020 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT. The seminar will discuss metrics, covering financial well-being, secure and stable housing, family stability, health, supportive communities, education, and work, that embody the comprehensive definition of economic and social mobility developed by the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty. Urban Institute’s Greg Acs will lead the seminar’s discussion.

This report assesses how place-based employment programs can help families navigate support systems, address needs during the pandemic, and help participants reengage with work when the labor market reopens. The report highlights Jobs Plus, an employment program that has been implemented in 35 public housing developments across the country, and includes on-site employment-related services, rent-based work incentives, and a community context supporting work. The community context includes partnerships among local housing agencies, the local workforce development agencies, training providers, employers, and significant social service agencies. The report also highlights evidence of increased earnings among Jobs Plus participants and operational tips for housing agencies as they help families.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for state, local, and tribal human services leaders serving children and families to provide a Whole Family response. To assist in this effort, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Regional Operations offers an updated list of resources, guidance, and tip sheets with information on ACF funding flexibilities and the whole family approach. This compendium includes:

• ACF Mandatory Program COVID-19 Program Flexibilities, Guidance and Resources (including information from the Office of Child Care, instructions on TANF allowable funds, letters and transmittal reports from the Children’s Bureau, and updates from the Office of Child Support Enforcement); and 

• Whole Family Approach to COVID-19 Response (including coverage about funding and flexibilities from Food and Nutrition Services programs, resources for working parents, and updates to funding resources for career and technical education programs and higher education institutions. There is also information about resources available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to address mental health and substance use disorders and behavioral health challenges as well as funding available at the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand rural health center and telehealth capacity. Support for homeless housing and rental assistance, families living in public housing, and families in need under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is also identified.)

This continuously updated set of resources, which include guidance, tool kits, and reports, provides information for supportive housing and homeless housing providers, in light of CDC guidelines for social distancing and quarantine against community spread of COVID-19. This compendium also offers fact sheets on how homeless individuals and families can navigate and access services.